Are you passionate about designing sustainable solutions and optimizing processes? We offer a challenging PhD position in the group TNW-PCS.

In collaboration with partners of the CBBC (Advanced Research Center Chemical Building Blocks Consortium - ARC CBBC (arc-cbbc.nl)) and the Inorganic Membranes group at UT (Marie Pizzoccaro-Zilamy, Arian Nijmeijer), in this project a novel concept for purification of extensive amounts of contaminated wastewater will be developed. Although ceramic ultra- and nanofiltration membranes can remove many dispersed hydrocarbons to a large extent, these membrane technologies do not remove relatively small, dissolved organics which will remain in the permeate water. The envisioned sustainable treatment technology encompasses membranes in combination with photocatalysts that can accommodate low to high organic toxic content, as well as large volumes of wastewater. Challenges include the fundamental understanding of the functioning of several photocatalyst compositions in substrate specific oxidation processes, the optimized inclusion of photocatalyst particles in membrane structures, and process design. If you are interested in this position Please contact Guido Mul through the button below.

• You are highly motivated and an enthusiastic researcher .
• You have a MSc degree in Chemistry, Physics or equivalent, with excellent experimental skills.
• You have a keen interest in Materials Science and bridging Chemistry and Physics.
• You have strong analytical skills and a keen interest in the interpretation of complex data.
• You are fluent in English.

• A full-time position for four years, with a qualifier in the first year, and the flexibility to work (partially) from home;
• Your salary and associated conditions are in accordance with the collective labour agreement for Dutch universities (CAO-NU);
• You will receive a gross monthly salary ranging from € 2.770,- (first year) to € 3.539,- (fourth year);
• There are excellent benefits including a holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary, an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%, and a solid pension scheme;
• A minimum of 232 leave hours in case of full-time employment based on a formal workweek of 38 hours. A full-time employment in practice means 40 hours a week, therefore resulting in 96 extra leave hours on an annual basis;
• Free access to sports facilities on campus;
• A family-friendly institution that offers parental leave (both paid and unpaid);
• You will have a training programme as part of the Twente Graduate School where you and your supervisors will determine a plan for a suitable education and supervision.

You will perform the research within the Photocatalytic Synthesis group (PCS), which is part of the Faculty of Science and Technology and the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology. The PCS group has a dynamic, multidisciplinary, and international character, and it offers an outstanding infrastructure. The research focus of the department is on the conversion of electrical or solar energy into chemical energy, i.e., to drive in a sustainable manner reactions of environmental relevance, such as water splitting or reduction of carbon dioxide, among others.

The PCS group within the Cluster Process and Catalysis Engineering is a wonderful place to work due to the friendly atmosphere and enthusiastic colleagues, excellent facilities, challenging research and attention to social relations.